Block fob blacking- boots and shoes



PATENT ernten.

F. G. HARDING, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BLOCK FOR BLACKING BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 17,431, dated June 2, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS G. HARDING, of Boston, in the county7 ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefularticle of manufacture designed to facilitate the blacking of shoes,whereby the interior of the shoe may be filled and the leather distendedand stretched smoothly over the block for the purpose of facilitatingthe operation of blacking the shoe; and 1 do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification,in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of my improvement;the plane of section passing through the center. Fig. 2 is a plan or topview of ditto.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a cast iron shell which corresponds in form to the frontpart of a shoe including the sides and instep. B is a cast iron shellcorresponding in form to the heel of the shoe. These shells may be castquite thin so as to be light and still be sufficiently strong for thepurpose intended.

The upper end of the shell B is connected by a joint to the upper partof the shell A, and the shell A has a curved extension (Z2) at its upperend to serve the purpose of a handle. Through the upper end of the shellB a screw C passes, and the inner end of this screw bears against aprojection (c) formed on the inner `side of the shell A.

D represents a spindle spring, the ends of which are connected to theinner sides of the two shells as shown in Fig. 1. This spring has atendency to draw the two shells together or toward each other.

The two shells, by screwing out the screw C, are allowed to approacheach other suiiciently close so that they may be readily placed withinthe shoe, shown in red Fig. l, and the two shells are then distended orforced apart by turning the screw C so that the shoe will be stretchedsnugly over the shells and all wrinkles removed from the leather. Theshoe thus blocked and stretched may be blacked and polished with muchgreater facility and in a more perfect inanner than usual in consequenceof wrinkles being removed from the leather and all its elasticity orspring destroyed, so that the requisite friction to produce the desiredresult is obtained with a comparatively small expenditure of labor.

I do not claim two shells in connection with a spring and screw,irrespective of peouliarity of construction and merely viewed as astretching block or tree, for such devices are now used for suchpurposes. But

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,-

The abovedescribed new article of manufacture, consisting of the thinmetallic shells A and B, hinged at (a) the former having an extension(ZJ) to serve as a handle to the implement and fitting the front insideof the shoe, and the latter fitting the inside of the heel; the saidshells being distended and the shoe thereby firmly held by means of thescrew C, passing through the shell B, and abutting against theprojection (o) of the shell A, in the manner and for the purposespecified.

F. G. HARDING.

lVitnesses VH. P. Ci-IEEVER,

C. F. JOHNSON.

